The new 25-man squad rule which comes into effect on September first should not trouble the top sides.

By Vineeth Krishnan

EPL’s new 25-man squad rule for the 2010-11 season has had many managers cry foul over the last few months. Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp says he faces a dilemma over including the injured Jonathan Woodgate in his 25. His Manchester United counterpart Alex Ferguson issued similar statements about Owen Hargreaves and Anderson. But a closer look at the rule shows that there really isn’t that much room for concern.

The rule explained

On September 1, each of the 20 Premier League clubs have to name a squad of 25 players, who are eligible to play for them before the January transfer window. Out of these 25 players, eight have to be ‘home-grown’, with that particular phrase not necessarily implying British. The stipulation for a player to pass as home-grown is that he should have been registered with an English or Welsh club for three years before he turned 21 (or before the end of the season in which he turned 21).

This means that the likes of Spaniard Cesc Fabreags and Welshman Ryan Giggs qualify as home-grown players, having been picked up as teenagers by EPL sides. An added clause about fielding unlimited Under-21 players further eases the pressure off managers.

The rule says that a club can supplement its squad of 25 with as many Under-21 players (of any nationality) as required. The player has to be under 21 years of age as of January 1 of the year in which the season starts (i.e. they should have been under 21 on January 1, 2010). The major clubs have a fair sprinkling of quality under-21’s who can add substance to their squads. United’s da Silva twins, Federico Macheda and Chris Smalling, a host of young Arsenal stars including Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Keiran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Carlos Vela, Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge and Gael Kakuta and Liverpool’s David N’Gog and Dani Pacheco all fit the age criteria.

Also, the rule specifies that a team need not name a full 25-member squad if they do not have enough registered players. Effectively, sides having five home-grown players like Chelsea can name only a 22-man squad while Liverpool, who have six, can name 23. Both teams can make up by using as many under-21s’ as needed but compared to the other title contenders in Manchester United and Arsenal, these two sides have a relatively lesser number of quality youngsters waiting to burst onto the scene.

Which means that heading into the new season, Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa for example can name strong, large squads come September 1, while others might struggle. The league’s big-spenders Manchester City face an altogether different dilemma. City have a multitude of foreign players who are not home-grown players above the age of 21 and can only chose 17 from them.

A manager can chose to leave a few players out in January and draft in others, because the day after the closure of the winter transfer window, all clubs have to name a 25-man squad again.

In-depth look at the top-squads

Chelsea: The Premier League champions have 23 first-team players including five home-grown stars: John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Ross Turnbull and Michael Mancienne. The Blues have two recognized under-21 players: Sturridge and Kakuta. This means that Chelsea only have 16 foreign stars at the moment all of whom can be named in the squad.

Manchester United: The Red Devils have 32-first team regulars, a number trimmed down by the fact that many of their youngsters have been sent out on season-long loans. No fewer than 13 home-grown players supplemented by seven under-21’s means that potentially, Manchester United can use all 32 players on their roster. This includes the injured Hargreaves and Anderson and unless Ferguson brings in any more players in August, he should not face any selection headaches.

Arsenal: Arsene Wenger’s catch-them-young (from anywhere in the world but young) policy, fits nicely with the new regulations. The Gunners have six home-grown stars, all of them non-British (Fabregas, Gael Clichy, Vito Mannone, Alex Song, Nicklas Bendtner and Johan Djourou) but the seemingly unlimited supply of classy under-21s’ more than makes up.

Tottenham Hotspur: A squad of 29 with four under-21s’ and an abundance (13) of home-grown stars means that Spurs can name all their frontline players in their squad come September. Even if two more players are brought in, Redknapp would only have to leave out fringe players like Alan Hutton and Dorian Dervite while still naming Woodgate in his squad.

Manchester City: The Citizens have 32 registered first-team players above 21 of whom 13 (Onuoha has been sent on loan) qualify as home-grown. Once eight of the 13 are chosen and provided either Shay Given or Joe Hart leaves the club, it still leaves 23 players fighting for 17 spots, not taking into account any more additions before the transfer deadline. David Gonzales, Kelvin Etuhu, Felipe Caicedo and Shaleum Logan will definitely miss out as will two out of Craig Bellamy, Stephen Ireland, Roque Santa Cruz, Robinho, Michael Johnson and Jo.

Liverpool: The Reds have six home-grown players (Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole, Glen Johnson, Jay Spearing and Stephen Darby) and 16 foreign players (including Emiliano Insua). So Roy Hodgson can name a squad of 22 and call up Under-21s’ like N’Gog and Pacheco.